The present invention is directed to a device for supporting rails of a railroad track used for conveying rail cars and the device includes a support plate positioned on a support bed with the support plate and support bed having interengaging profiled surfaces extending in the long direction of the track with the interposition of elastic elements at least in certain regions. The profiled surfaces include flanks extending in the long direction and at least two of the flanks extend at an angle different from 90.degree. with respect to a line perpendicular to a plane of the track with the angle diverging in the direction upwardly toward the top of the rail.
When rail cars travel over railroad track, due to the weight of the rail cars and the speed at which they travel over the track, shock loads of different magnitudes, noises and lateral forces develop especially on curves. To dampen the shock loads, reduce the noise, and counter the lateral forces, support devices are known made up of support plates and a support bed, where one rail is fastened to the support plate and elastic elements are disposed between the support plate and the support bed. Particularly in curved sections of a railroad track, high lateral forces occur, in addition to the loads resulting from the weight of the railroad cars which are generated by guidance forces of the cars. These higher forces in curved sections of the railroad track result in high stresses in the support plates and support bed.
The vertical movement of a support plate can be controlled when a load is developed by an arrangement of elastic elements located between the support plate and the support bed. By providing these elastic elements with specific geometrical shapes, their elastic behavior can be influenced.
In DE-OS 30 30 936 an arrangement for supporting rails is shown where the rail is fastened to a support plate which abuts by means of a profiled surface and the interposition of elastic elements against a support bed.
The cross-sectional shape of the profiled surface is essentially trapeze-shaped. Accordingly, the elastic elements are arranged inclined obliquely to one another and form an angle which is open towards the top of the rail. The elastic elements closer to the center of the railroad track form a smaller angle with a line perpendicular to the plane of the railroad track installation than the elastic elements disposed on the outer side of the railroad track.
This known arrangement has the disadvantage that the support plate, depending upon the direction of the load, can assume a position, with respect to the support bed, tilted towards the middle or the outer side of the railroad track. Such inclination of the support plate towards the outside of the railroad track causes an essentially horizontal offset of the rail head toward the outside. As a result, an undesirable gauge widening occurs, which apart from the increased wear, in case of a possibly occurring rail fracture in a curved section of the railroad track, can lead to a derailment of the rail cars. The carrying of guidance forces is no longer possible.
An additional disadvantage of this known arrangement involves the support plate tilting in a very pronounced manner towards the center of the railroad track on the occurrence of high forces acting in the vertical direction, with the result that the rail head performs a large horizontal movement towards the center of the track. Such a situation causes a distinct narrowing of the rail gauge. Narrowing of the rail gauge in railroad tracks causes high wear in the region of the wheel flange and in the region of the side flanks of the rail head as well as a high rolling resistance and noise generation.